- Audio Pro has just unveiled the A15 W (yes, late on a Friday afternoon)
- The Danish brand’s progeny offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and portability
- Available now, priced at $400 / £299 / around AU$579
If the 2022 Audio Pro A15 was a natural Sonos Move rival, the newly launched 2026 Audio Pro A15 W might happily butt heads with the Sonos Move 2.
Not to mention compete with a new series of Bluetooth-only ‘HYG’ speakers from Jamo, the Denon Home 400 (which it resembles rather strongly), something from WiiM’s expanding arsenal of products or the new Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker — top tip on that one: a review will be going live over the weekend and it’s worth a read…
Back to the A15 W, though, and what you’ve got here is a portable wireless speaker that boasts room-filling sound, flexible streaming options and battery-powered portability that’s built for both indoor and outdoor listening.
And that’s where it has the edge over some (if not all of the competition), because your average Wi-Fi enabled speaker usually needs to remain hooked up to a power socket within your home.
Not so here — in fact, alongside Bluetooth capability and an 11-hour battery life, you also get a ‘water resistant’ IPX2 rating, so it’ll survive a European shower (if not the deluges we’ve been seeing during World Cup matches in the US this week).
Audio Pro tells me it can also be used as a multi-room system with other A15 W speakers (or in fact any W series speaker from the Audio Pro range) but because it also supports both Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, it should be easy to welcome it into existing Apple or Android-based multi-room systems.
The (Audio) Pro mindset
I’ve long been a fan of Audio Pro speakers, starting with the Bluetooth only T3+ I listen to every day, but having tested the five-star, Wi-Fi enabled Audio Pro C20, I know very well about the decidedly ‘Hygge’ adjacent firm’s admirable way with HDMI ARC-toting, sub-out sporting, RCA hook-up-able AirPlay and Google Cast speakers.
Interestingly, the grille looks fixed on this model, and I’ve always been a fan of removing the grilles on my Audio Pro speakers to see the relaxed, rock-chic driver configurations underneath.
The A15 W features a two-way speaker system with a dedicated tweeter alongside a 4.5-inch woofer. You can stream music via Bluetooth too, with better-quality aptX support, and if using Wi-Fi you’ll be aided by the latest Audio Pro app, to access compatible music streaming services directly. I’ve used it before, and I like it a lot.
For instant access to playlists and internet radio stations, six preset buttons across the top plate are there to offer one-touch playback without working out where you’ve left your phone. A 3.5mm aux input also enables connection to portable music players and compatible turntables or CD players. So, no HDMI ARC, sub-out or RCA this time (its newest rival, the Denon 400 also lacks these things), but there’s the same contemporary fabric finish and contrasting aluminium control buttons as I’ve come to expect from the brand.
The Audio Pro A15 W is available in Dark Grey and Light Grey finishes, and it’ll set you back $400 / £299 (which is around AU$579), whichever color you go for.
How good does it sound? I can’t vouch for that yet. But I’ll be working on it…
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becky.scarrott@futurenet.com (Becky Scarrott)
